Best Actor

Watch: Teddy Sears on grabbing the ‘brass ring’ with ‘Masters of Sex’ role

It took a few years in a career filled with guest roles and failed series (including “Raising the Bar” and “The Defenders”), but Teddy Sears is finally on a hit show. As the actor told us during our recent webcam chat, “I would like to think it’s going to be a nice long career if I could draft it up, just sort of stick around, and one of these jobs is going to be one that will be the brass ring. For me, ‘Masters of Sex‘ is my brass ring.”

On the freshman Showtime series, Sears plays Dr. Austin Langham, a young doctor who gets more than he bargained for when he volunteers to take part in a study on sexuality. Langham works at Washington University in the 1950s with the famed Dr. William Masters (Michael Sheen). Even though he is married, he takes part in the sex study, pairing up with several young ladies. And he embarks on an affair with Margaret Scully (Allison Janney), the wife of his provost (Beau Bridges).

“Masters of Sex” may be one of the few first-timers at this year’s Emmy Awards to reap bids across the major categories. While the first season aired in the fall, the second will air its premiere episode on July 13, three days after Emmy nominations are announced.

If nominated as Best Drama Supporting Actor, Sears says that he would submit the tenth episode, “Fallout,” to the Emmy judges. As he explains, “His life begins falling apart the same way everybody’s life is metaphorically falling apart due to the Civil Defense drill. I just love that when his life is falling apart, he goes back to this older woman (Janney) who clearly touched something in himself that’s scary and so unnerving. That was so wonderful and so beautiful.”

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